Guest The Axe Report post Posted April 29, 2013 1. What makes you say he hasn't worked his ass off? It's not like he floats all over the ice, or has questions swirling around him re: his work ethic. 2. What is this thing with the weight room? Babcock called Abdelkader a gym rat earlier this season. We're talking like there's a whole lot this guy can do to suddenly become a first-line scoring threat. It doesn't really work that way. Whereas, if a soft, undersized guy wants to get stronger on his skates? He can push the workout routine, or what have you. Abdelkader isn't failing to score at a fifty-goal pace because of some kind of lack of effort. He's a fourth-line grinder with a very limited offensive upside. That he's scored ten goals is actually pretty remarkable, even with the help and minutes he's had. This guy scored a lot in his per NHL days. I would like to see him come back to that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dabura 12,207 Report post Posted April 29, 2013 This guy scored a lot in his per NHL days. I would like to see him come back to that. I think we all would. But then, all these guys were scorers in their younger days. At this level, on this stage, Abdelkader...is a fourth-liner. He knows it, Babs knows it, Holland knows it. Problem is, we're so desperate for a big mean scoring winger that he (of all the people on our roster and in our system) is The Serviceable Solution. Meanwhile, other teams are loaded with the sort of player we're trying to force Abdelkader to be. Basically, if we're gonna throw stones at someone for this, it should be Ken Holland. Almost our entire frickin' top-six pool is populated by soft, undersized, pass-first-playmaking-puck-wizards. And instead of finding a legitimate counterbalance, we lean on Cleary, Samuelsson, Bertuzzi...Abdelkader. This is called "dicking around." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
